Howdy Fam,
Thanks for all the emails. Matt thats awesome about the backflips, I´m sure we´ll have some fun when I get home. Dad, thanks for the email. Crystal, good luck finishing Portuguese.
I´m not sure exactly where to start, life is just going great. We had three baptisms on Sunday and this week should be four or five. Gilberto Finally got back on Monday so they´re getting married Friday and baptized Sunday. The only down side is that I won´t be there to see it. Yup, I got transferred and I couldn´t have asked for a better one. I´m going to Porto Velho. That means I´ll be the only Elder in the mission that´s been to all four states. That´s not all. My companion is going to be Elder Brown who is Elder Sato´s friend that he told me about before I came on my mission. He´s a really cool guy, and I´m way excited. I´m flying out tomorrow afternoon.
Other than that, things are going well. We had our last zone conference with President Parrella on Monday, which was really good. I´ll miss him and Sister Parrella, but I´m sure that the next president will be great. You guys are in my prayers.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Wednesday, June 8, 2005
Wednesday, June 1, 2005
good times and last conferences
Howdy Fam,
It sounds like things are going great, and that everything will be completely different when I get home. Everybody´s moving away! It´s all good though. Mom, say goodbye to everyone that´s moving for me.
As far as your questions mom. There are two zones here in Rio Branco, and each one has eight missionaries. When I got here the first time there was also another city about an hour and a half from here, but now they´re by themselves. Anyway, being a zone leader doesn´t change much. All we do is baptismal interviews, and training in the zone meetings on Mondays. In this area we also get everything ready for the zone conferences. President´s last conference will be monday and transfers will be on Wednesday. I don´t know if I´ll get transferred or not. Either way it will be cool. The mission had a record of baptisms this month 366. We had one baptism last week. This week will be good. We have two baptisms for sure and Gilberto should get back tomorrow so we´re going to marry and baptize them before I get transferred.
Anyway, I gotta run.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
It sounds like things are going great, and that everything will be completely different when I get home. Everybody´s moving away! It´s all good though. Mom, say goodbye to everyone that´s moving for me.
As far as your questions mom. There are two zones here in Rio Branco, and each one has eight missionaries. When I got here the first time there was also another city about an hour and a half from here, but now they´re by themselves. Anyway, being a zone leader doesn´t change much. All we do is baptismal interviews, and training in the zone meetings on Mondays. In this area we also get everything ready for the zone conferences. President´s last conference will be monday and transfers will be on Wednesday. I don´t know if I´ll get transferred or not. Either way it will be cool. The mission had a record of baptisms this month 366. We had one baptism last week. This week will be good. We have two baptisms for sure and Gilberto should get back tomorrow so we´re going to marry and baptize them before I get transferred.
Anyway, I gotta run.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
it´s all right!
Howdy Fam,
It sounds like things are going great back home and I´m glad to hear it. As it turned out, our baptisms fell through last week, but it´s all good, we should have a few this week, I´m not sure how many.
This last week was quite a busy one. Elder Cidade and I had to get everything ready for the zone conference. Then we had to wait for the assistants who flew at midnight thursday night to help out in the conference. The conference as always was great. One cool surprise was to see my trainer Elder Santana. I didn´t think that I would see him again because he´s going home on the tenth. He seems to be doing really well. President Parrella taught about calling and election, it was really cool. I also got the package, Thanks mom.
Sunday we had stake conference, which was kind of strange for me, because I was here for the stake conference a year ago and never expected to be here a year later.
Anyway, this week is going well. We´ve got a few new investigators including a young couple thats waiting for their first child. The husband of the family that we´re going to baptize is still travelling. We´re hoping that he´ll get back this week or next, to baptize them, before I get transferred.
Well, thats all Folks.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
It sounds like things are going great back home and I´m glad to hear it. As it turned out, our baptisms fell through last week, but it´s all good, we should have a few this week, I´m not sure how many.
This last week was quite a busy one. Elder Cidade and I had to get everything ready for the zone conference. Then we had to wait for the assistants who flew at midnight thursday night to help out in the conference. The conference as always was great. One cool surprise was to see my trainer Elder Santana. I didn´t think that I would see him again because he´s going home on the tenth. He seems to be doing really well. President Parrella taught about calling and election, it was really cool. I also got the package, Thanks mom.
Sunday we had stake conference, which was kind of strange for me, because I was here for the stake conference a year ago and never expected to be here a year later.
Anyway, this week is going well. We´ve got a few new investigators including a young couple thats waiting for their first child. The husband of the family that we´re going to baptize is still travelling. We´re hoping that he´ll get back this week or next, to baptize them, before I get transferred.
Well, thats all Folks.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Saudades
Howdy fam,
Mom, thanks for the email. It´s great to here how everything went with the wedding. Hearing all those names brought back a lot of memories. I was actually thinking about Jerry Carney the other day. I´m glad to hear thats he´s doing well. I can´t believe that Mitch and Forrest are already home, I´m sure that they were great missionaries.
As usual, things are going great here. We had three baptisms on sunday which of course was great. Elder Cidade and I are having a really good time together and time is just flying by. Friday will be are zone conference, so I´m excited about that. I´ll get your package too. this will be president Parrella´s second to last conference and it might be the last one that I see, depending on what happens next transfer.
This week will be stake conference and we should have two or three baptisms, and week we´re going to marry and baptize a family which will be really cool.
Anyway, thats about whats happening here.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Mom, thanks for the email. It´s great to here how everything went with the wedding. Hearing all those names brought back a lot of memories. I was actually thinking about Jerry Carney the other day. I´m glad to hear thats he´s doing well. I can´t believe that Mitch and Forrest are already home, I´m sure that they were great missionaries.
As usual, things are going great here. We had three baptisms on sunday which of course was great. Elder Cidade and I are having a really good time together and time is just flying by. Friday will be are zone conference, so I´m excited about that. I´ll get your package too. this will be president Parrella´s second to last conference and it might be the last one that I see, depending on what happens next transfer.
This week will be stake conference and we should have two or three baptisms, and week we´re going to marry and baptize a family which will be really cool.
Anyway, thats about whats happening here.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
growing up
Howdy Fam,
Its kind of hard to believe that Sunday was already my last phone call before I go home. I know that I´ve already mentioned this many times, but it´s interesting the things that time does to you while you´re serving a mission. There´s part of me that feels like I´ve been a missionary my whole life and another part telling me that I just got here yesterday. Either way though, its been great until now and I´m sure that the last six will be even better.
It was great to talk to all the cousins. The last time I talked to Joseph was over three years ago, so it was particularly good to talk to him. I´m quite excited to be his roomate after my mission like we´d always talked about. Matt, sorry I didn´t recognize your voice. I´m a little scared that you´ll be bigger than me soon. It will be fun to hang out and get to know you again after I get home. It was a wonderful surprise to talk to Steven and Tevan, it brought back a lot of good memories. Anyway, as you guys know, your the best family and friends I could ever ask for, and the great thing is that time doesn´t change that, on the contrary it just makes the feelings stronger. Crystal, keep up with the portuguese, I want to chat when I get home.
Things are going well here. We had three baptisms on Sunday and we should have four or five this week. Mom and Dad, I love you guys too.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Its kind of hard to believe that Sunday was already my last phone call before I go home. I know that I´ve already mentioned this many times, but it´s interesting the things that time does to you while you´re serving a mission. There´s part of me that feels like I´ve been a missionary my whole life and another part telling me that I just got here yesterday. Either way though, its been great until now and I´m sure that the last six will be even better.
It was great to talk to all the cousins. The last time I talked to Joseph was over three years ago, so it was particularly good to talk to him. I´m quite excited to be his roomate after my mission like we´d always talked about. Matt, sorry I didn´t recognize your voice. I´m a little scared that you´ll be bigger than me soon. It will be fun to hang out and get to know you again after I get home. It was a wonderful surprise to talk to Steven and Tevan, it brought back a lot of good memories. Anyway, as you guys know, your the best family and friends I could ever ask for, and the great thing is that time doesn´t change that, on the contrary it just makes the feelings stronger. Crystal, keep up with the portuguese, I want to chat when I get home.
Things are going well here. We had three baptisms on Sunday and we should have four or five this week. Mom and Dad, I love you guys too.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Wednesday, May 4, 2005
Weddings everywhere!!!
Howdy Fam,
It sounds like thing are going great back home. It´s good to know that Sister Keller´s funeral was a good experience. The Keller family are in my prayers. Mom, don´t worry about the book, as long it gets here before the end of July thats fine. Anyway, life is going great here in Rio Branco. You might wonder about the heading to the email, so let me expain. First, as you all know Ben is getting married on Saturday which will be a surely joyful occassion, but that´s not all. A man that Elder Lourenço and I found over a month ago and his wife accepted baptism, and to get baptized we´re going to help them get married. I´m way excited because this is the first time that I´ll baptize a complete family. I´m also excited because we´re going to have quite a few baptisms this week. I´m not sure exactly how many, somewhere between six and ten.
Elder Cidade and I are getting along great, and the Lord is truly blessing us with a lot of people ready to recieve the gospel. I´m learning a lot with him, and all in all we´re just having a good time.
As far as the mothers day call here´s the number again just to make sure. I think that this is the whole number 011-55-68-3221-5517. You´ve managed to call the Other times I´m sure you´ll make it this time. Call at 8:00 Utah time. Talk to you on Sunday.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
It sounds like thing are going great back home. It´s good to know that Sister Keller´s funeral was a good experience. The Keller family are in my prayers. Mom, don´t worry about the book, as long it gets here before the end of July thats fine. Anyway, life is going great here in Rio Branco. You might wonder about the heading to the email, so let me expain. First, as you all know Ben is getting married on Saturday which will be a surely joyful occassion, but that´s not all. A man that Elder Lourenço and I found over a month ago and his wife accepted baptism, and to get baptized we´re going to help them get married. I´m way excited because this is the first time that I´ll baptize a complete family. I´m also excited because we´re going to have quite a few baptisms this week. I´m not sure exactly how many, somewhere between six and ten.
Elder Cidade and I are getting along great, and the Lord is truly blessing us with a lot of people ready to recieve the gospel. I´m learning a lot with him, and all in all we´re just having a good time.
As far as the mothers day call here´s the number again just to make sure. I think that this is the whole number 011-55-68-3221-5517. You´ve managed to call the Other times I´m sure you´ll make it this time. Call at 8:00 Utah time. Talk to you on Sunday.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
where do i begin?
Howdy Fam(that now includes you Whitney),
There a lot to say and I´m not sure exactly where to start. I just got a lot of news all at once. first, tell the Kellers that they´ll be in my prayers. I´ll miss Ruth. Second, Mom if you see Linnae tell her congratulations on the wedding, that´s great.
Life here is going wonderfully as usual. We had 2 baptisms on Sunday. Five people passed the interview but then 3 weren´t baptized, but its all good. One of them will be baptized this week. As it turns out my companion got transferred. He´s flying out to Manaus tonight. My new companion is just coming from another area in Rio Branco, his name is Elder Cidade and I´m looking forward to being his comp. He seems like a really cool guy. This month our mission had a goal of 350 baptism but we just managed 316, but next month has five weekends so the goal is 400. It will be fun to see what happens. President Parrella only has two months left, so we´re going to help him go out with a bang.
Whitney, I know that officially you´re not my sister yet, but like it or not in 11 days you are. Just let me say, good luck!
Love,
Elder Bangerter
There a lot to say and I´m not sure exactly where to start. I just got a lot of news all at once. first, tell the Kellers that they´ll be in my prayers. I´ll miss Ruth. Second, Mom if you see Linnae tell her congratulations on the wedding, that´s great.
Life here is going wonderfully as usual. We had 2 baptisms on Sunday. Five people passed the interview but then 3 weren´t baptized, but its all good. One of them will be baptized this week. As it turns out my companion got transferred. He´s flying out to Manaus tonight. My new companion is just coming from another area in Rio Branco, his name is Elder Cidade and I´m looking forward to being his comp. He seems like a really cool guy. This month our mission had a goal of 350 baptism but we just managed 316, but next month has five weekends so the goal is 400. It will be fun to see what happens. President Parrella only has two months left, so we´re going to help him go out with a bang.
Whitney, I know that officially you´re not my sister yet, but like it or not in 11 days you are. Just let me say, good luck!
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Have a fun trip
Howdy Fam,
I can´t believe that the wedding is so close. I thought the day would never come, but it seems that everything in life is like that. I hope that Adam and Crystal have a good time up at the Y. Adam, don´t have too much fun, you´ve still got your mission(I don´t know why I said that). Crystal, what are you going to study?
Anyway, I´m back in my area, but I enjoyed my week in Tucumã. Frank was going to be baptized last week, but there was a little confusion so he´ll be baptized this Saturday. We had the baptisms of two young men; James, and Ramon. This week I´m not sure how many baptisms we´ll have, between three and six, so I´m excited as usual. This will be my last week with Elder Lourenço. We haven´t gotten the transfers yet, but he only has one transfer left and we´re sure he´ll be transferred.
One other thing to remember is that mothers day is coming up, so lets not forget about that. It will be the day after the wedding. I don´t have the phone number yet but I´ll send it next week.
Anyway, I´m here, you guys are there, I´m happy, what else is new?
Love,
Elder Bangerter
I can´t believe that the wedding is so close. I thought the day would never come, but it seems that everything in life is like that. I hope that Adam and Crystal have a good time up at the Y. Adam, don´t have too much fun, you´ve still got your mission(I don´t know why I said that). Crystal, what are you going to study?
Anyway, I´m back in my area, but I enjoyed my week in Tucumã. Frank was going to be baptized last week, but there was a little confusion so he´ll be baptized this Saturday. We had the baptisms of two young men; James, and Ramon. This week I´m not sure how many baptisms we´ll have, between three and six, so I´m excited as usual. This will be my last week with Elder Lourenço. We haven´t gotten the transfers yet, but he only has one transfer left and we´re sure he´ll be transferred.
One other thing to remember is that mothers day is coming up, so lets not forget about that. It will be the day after the wedding. I don´t have the phone number yet but I´ll send it next week.
Anyway, I´m here, you guys are there, I´m happy, what else is new?
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
old area and lots of conferences
Howdy Fam,
Sounds like everything is going great up Texas way.I hope you have fun with the bike mom, and I hope that Crystal has fun with jury duty. Adam, good luck at BYU, and have a blast with Steven. Tell him hi for me. Its good to hear that dad´s busy with work.
As it turns out, this week has been and is going to be fun. I back in Tucumã for a week on splits with the missionaries there to see if we can get things a little more excited here in the area. I´m with Elder Monson. He´s one of the few elders thats blonder than me. He´s a great guy and we´re having a great time. He likes dirtbiking, airplanes, and his dad is an autobody guy, so there´s always something to talk about. Its also just great to be back in my old area. Its an interesting feeling walking down the same streets, through the same shortcuts, and seeing so many people that I grew to love while I was here. We´re going to baptize young man named Frank that I found when I was here the first time.
We´ve got zone conference tomorrow, which I´m sure will be great, and then on Saturday there´s going to be a transmission from the first presidency to the missionaries in the whole world, so I pumped.
Anyway, life is great and so are rootbeer slushies.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Sounds like everything is going great up Texas way.I hope you have fun with the bike mom, and I hope that Crystal has fun with jury duty. Adam, good luck at BYU, and have a blast with Steven. Tell him hi for me. Its good to hear that dad´s busy with work.
As it turns out, this week has been and is going to be fun. I back in Tucumã for a week on splits with the missionaries there to see if we can get things a little more excited here in the area. I´m with Elder Monson. He´s one of the few elders thats blonder than me. He´s a great guy and we´re having a great time. He likes dirtbiking, airplanes, and his dad is an autobody guy, so there´s always something to talk about. Its also just great to be back in my old area. Its an interesting feeling walking down the same streets, through the same shortcuts, and seeing so many people that I grew to love while I was here. We´re going to baptize young man named Frank that I found when I was here the first time.
We´ve got zone conference tomorrow, which I´m sure will be great, and then on Saturday there´s going to be a transmission from the first presidency to the missionaries in the whole world, so I pumped.
Anyway, life is great and so are rootbeer slushies.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Wednesday, April 6, 2005
I love conference
Howdy Fam,
Well, as always, another week has come and gone and I´m not quite sure where it went. The area I´m in is great. We´ve found a lot of new people to teach and the members are very willing to help. The two baptisms that we were going to have this last week fell through but thats all right. We should have two this week and the next few weeks will be full. Next week we should baptize a 76 year old man. He´s a pretty funny guy. He was a soldado da borracha "rubber soldier" during WWII. They were soldiers assigned to collect rubber from the rubber trees in the Amazon that were used to make all the tires and everything during the war. Anyway, he´s a cool guy, he already had a BOM and already read the whole thing.
General conference was great. As always, they said so many things I needed to hear. I really enjoyed Elder Bednar´s talk, I really felt the spirit as he spoke, Elder Nelson´s talk about his wife was also quite touching. Anyway, I won´t bore you guys listing off all the things I liked, I´ll just say that "It was worth the five bucks for me and my whole family, eh".
So things are good here, and it sounds like they´re good there, so thats all folks.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
P.S. once again congrats to Ben and Whitney(I´m trying to build up Brownie points)
Well, as always, another week has come and gone and I´m not quite sure where it went. The area I´m in is great. We´ve found a lot of new people to teach and the members are very willing to help. The two baptisms that we were going to have this last week fell through but thats all right. We should have two this week and the next few weeks will be full. Next week we should baptize a 76 year old man. He´s a pretty funny guy. He was a soldado da borracha "rubber soldier" during WWII. They were soldiers assigned to collect rubber from the rubber trees in the Amazon that were used to make all the tires and everything during the war. Anyway, he´s a cool guy, he already had a BOM and already read the whole thing.
General conference was great. As always, they said so many things I needed to hear. I really enjoyed Elder Bednar´s talk, I really felt the spirit as he spoke, Elder Nelson´s talk about his wife was also quite touching. Anyway, I won´t bore you guys listing off all the things I liked, I´ll just say that "It was worth the five bucks for me and my whole family, eh".
So things are good here, and it sounds like they´re good there, so thats all folks.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
P.S. once again congrats to Ben and Whitney(I´m trying to build up Brownie points)
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
IT´S ABOUT STINKIN TIME!!!
Howdy fam,
Let me repeat, IT´S ABOUT STINKIN TIME!!! I´m glad to hear that my big brother is finally getting his act together. By the way congratulations Ben and Whitney. That rocks. In a month and a half I´m gonna have a sister that I´ve never even met. Really though, I´m looking forward to getting to know my new sibling(ings)( hint, hint, Crystal) when I get home. I always wanted another sister(and I guess I could handle one more brother).All right, enough with the joking around. I hope that everything goes well with the wedding.
I also hope that everything goes well with dad´s business endeavors whatever they may be. I don´t have any doubt that the Lord will take care of everything as he has always done.
As far as my life these days, it has been absolutely wonderful. I´m home in Rio Branco and life couldn´t be better. My last night in Manaus we finally baptized a man named Onassis, so I felt good leaving my area, in the hands of Elder Reese, even though I didn´t baptize quite as many people as I´d hoped there, but those that elder Sanatana and I baptized are people that I´ll never forget.
It is so great to be back in Rio Branco again. I already got to go back to my old area to do some baptismal interviews, and, as luck would have it, I saw Wesley the young man that Elder Kartchner and I baptized. It was really good to see him again and I was happy to find out that his Grandma( who raised him) is going to be baptized in two weeks. He is a great kid and has really become like a brother to me. He´s 17 and is planning on going on a mission as soon as he turns 19, and then he´s going to do everything he can to make it to the states, so maybe you guys will meet him someday.
We didn´t have any baptisms this Saturday, but we´re planning on a few this weekend between the conference sessions. I´m in the biggest area I´ve had yet and I´m enjoying it. I´m looking forward to the next few months working here.
Once again congratulations Ben and Whitney.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Let me repeat, IT´S ABOUT STINKIN TIME!!! I´m glad to hear that my big brother is finally getting his act together. By the way congratulations Ben and Whitney. That rocks. In a month and a half I´m gonna have a sister that I´ve never even met. Really though, I´m looking forward to getting to know my new sibling(ings)( hint, hint, Crystal) when I get home. I always wanted another sister(and I guess I could handle one more brother).All right, enough with the joking around. I hope that everything goes well with the wedding.
I also hope that everything goes well with dad´s business endeavors whatever they may be. I don´t have any doubt that the Lord will take care of everything as he has always done.
As far as my life these days, it has been absolutely wonderful. I´m home in Rio Branco and life couldn´t be better. My last night in Manaus we finally baptized a man named Onassis, so I felt good leaving my area, in the hands of Elder Reese, even though I didn´t baptize quite as many people as I´d hoped there, but those that elder Sanatana and I baptized are people that I´ll never forget.
It is so great to be back in Rio Branco again. I already got to go back to my old area to do some baptismal interviews, and, as luck would have it, I saw Wesley the young man that Elder Kartchner and I baptized. It was really good to see him again and I was happy to find out that his Grandma( who raised him) is going to be baptized in two weeks. He is a great kid and has really become like a brother to me. He´s 17 and is planning on going on a mission as soon as he turns 19, and then he´s going to do everything he can to make it to the states, so maybe you guys will meet him someday.
We didn´t have any baptisms this Saturday, but we´re planning on a few this weekend between the conference sessions. I´m in the biggest area I´ve had yet and I´m enjoying it. I´m looking forward to the next few months working here.
Once again congratulations Ben and Whitney.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
I'M GOING HOME!!!!!!
Howdy Fam,
Thats right folks I´m going back home, to Rio Branco the greatest city ever. I can´t tell you how shock I was when my ZL read the transfers. The truth is I started dancing aroundthe room. I´m also a zone leader now. That means I´m going back to the same zone I was in and also to the area that Elder Evans went after being my comp. I thought that after leaving Boa Vista I wouldn´t Manaus again, because I´ve only heard of one missionary that left Manaus came back and left again. Anyway I think that you guys can tell that I´m more than just a little pumped. One thing that makes it even better is that we´re going to have a baptism tonight. The only sad part is that I won´t see a lot of missionaries again before they go home, but thats all right. I´m also quite excited to see me old area and say hi to some people that I thought I would never see again.
It has really been amazing to see the Lord´s hand working even in what transfers I have. I had an interview with President Parrella yesterday and I really saw that he does the transfers just by inspiration. I´m truelly blessed to have such an amazing mission president.
Anyway this week was really good. As I said, we had a conference with Elder Arnold on Saturday and it was wonderful. I got to see a lot of missionaries that I hadn´t seen in a long time. Elder Arnold is an incredibly spiritual man and I learned a lot (Now I´m just trying to put it into practice). Sunday was great too. The attendence was back up over two hundred the other elders and us had 18 visitors at church, so I was happy.
Well, life is great. Next time you here from me I´ll be in a different time zone.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Thats right folks I´m going back home, to Rio Branco the greatest city ever. I can´t tell you how shock I was when my ZL read the transfers. The truth is I started dancing aroundthe room. I´m also a zone leader now. That means I´m going back to the same zone I was in and also to the area that Elder Evans went after being my comp. I thought that after leaving Boa Vista I wouldn´t Manaus again, because I´ve only heard of one missionary that left Manaus came back and left again. Anyway I think that you guys can tell that I´m more than just a little pumped. One thing that makes it even better is that we´re going to have a baptism tonight. The only sad part is that I won´t see a lot of missionaries again before they go home, but thats all right. I´m also quite excited to see me old area and say hi to some people that I thought I would never see again.
It has really been amazing to see the Lord´s hand working even in what transfers I have. I had an interview with President Parrella yesterday and I really saw that he does the transfers just by inspiration. I´m truelly blessed to have such an amazing mission president.
Anyway this week was really good. As I said, we had a conference with Elder Arnold on Saturday and it was wonderful. I got to see a lot of missionaries that I hadn´t seen in a long time. Elder Arnold is an incredibly spiritual man and I learned a lot (Now I´m just trying to put it into practice). Sunday was great too. The attendence was back up over two hundred the other elders and us had 18 visitors at church, so I was happy.
Well, life is great. Next time you here from me I´ll be in a different time zone.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
for gramps
Hey Grandpa,
First, I guess I´ll say the costumary happy birthday. Grandpa, it´s kind of hard to say in just a couple words the influence that you´ve had in my life. The truth is that you have always been a great example to me in many ways. Ever since I was little I have seen the strength of your work ethic, I don´t think I´ve ever been to your house without seeing you working on or fixing something. Also I´ve been humbled at times by your willingness to just help others without even thinking of your own comfort. An example of that was when our car broke down in the middle of the night on the way to Boise, and you came and took us all the way home that night then went back home the next day without a word of complaint, on the contrary I remember laughing a bit that night. One thing that I have really grown to appreciate as I´ve grown older is your wonderful sense of humor. Anyway, I could keep jabbering on but I guess I´ll just get to the point. I love you Grandpa, and once again, Happy eightieth birthday.
Elder Bangerter
First, I guess I´ll say the costumary happy birthday. Grandpa, it´s kind of hard to say in just a couple words the influence that you´ve had in my life. The truth is that you have always been a great example to me in many ways. Ever since I was little I have seen the strength of your work ethic, I don´t think I´ve ever been to your house without seeing you working on or fixing something. Also I´ve been humbled at times by your willingness to just help others without even thinking of your own comfort. An example of that was when our car broke down in the middle of the night on the way to Boise, and you came and took us all the way home that night then went back home the next day without a word of complaint, on the contrary I remember laughing a bit that night. One thing that I have really grown to appreciate as I´ve grown older is your wonderful sense of humor. Anyway, I could keep jabbering on but I guess I´ll just get to the point. I love you Grandpa, and once again, Happy eightieth birthday.
Elder Bangerter
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
rain drops keep fallin on my head
Howdy Fam,
I didn´t get the family email yet, but I´m sure everything is going fine up that way. Its great hearing how Bob and Brandon are doing. I had a fun week this week. Half of my investigators fell through and nobody went to church because it rained Sunday morning, and not just investigators, members too. The normal attendence in my ward is about 200 people, this Sunday there were only 104. I also won´t have anybaptisms this week because nobody went to church. I think I´m going to be transferred next week on Thursday so I´m fighting to have some baptisms that Wednesday night.
The last few days have actually been pretty fun though. I´ve been on splits with my ZL for the last three days. We are working on bringing the ward list up to date, so we´ve wandering all over our two areas trying to find roads and addresses. I´ve gotten to know my area a lot better. We´ve found I don´t know how many people that have already moved away and a few that have even died already, so its been cool.
I´m excited for Saturday . They called a special missionary conference because Elder Arnold of the seventy is in town. I´m pumped because I think I´ll get to see Elder Evans and some other missionaries that I haven´t seen in quite a while.
Oh ya, if anybody sees Tevan, tell him happy nineteenth birthday, and ask him when he´s going to send in his papers.
Anyway, life is good.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
I didn´t get the family email yet, but I´m sure everything is going fine up that way. Its great hearing how Bob and Brandon are doing. I had a fun week this week. Half of my investigators fell through and nobody went to church because it rained Sunday morning, and not just investigators, members too. The normal attendence in my ward is about 200 people, this Sunday there were only 104. I also won´t have anybaptisms this week because nobody went to church. I think I´m going to be transferred next week on Thursday so I´m fighting to have some baptisms that Wednesday night.
The last few days have actually been pretty fun though. I´ve been on splits with my ZL for the last three days. We are working on bringing the ward list up to date, so we´ve wandering all over our two areas trying to find roads and addresses. I´ve gotten to know my area a lot better. We´ve found I don´t know how many people that have already moved away and a few that have even died already, so its been cool.
I´m excited for Saturday . They called a special missionary conference because Elder Arnold of the seventy is in town. I´m pumped because I think I´ll get to see Elder Evans and some other missionaries that I haven´t seen in quite a while.
Oh ya, if anybody sees Tevan, tell him happy nineteenth birthday, and ask him when he´s going to send in his papers.
Anyway, life is good.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
Election Day
Howdy Fam,
Well he wasn´t exactly elected, but I found out who my new mission president is going to be.I don´t remember his name right now, but he´s from Southern Brazil and President Parrella spoke very well of him. Still the thought of not having president Parrella as my president makes me kind of sad. I can´t that he´ll only be here for another three and a half months.
Anyway, conference was great yesterday. The doctor thats in charge of the north Brazil area was there to speak to us. imagine my surprise when President Parrella called my name and said. "Elder Bangerter will translate for doctor Farnsworth". I was caught a little off guard at first, but it was fun. First he gave a health training, then gave a talk. He is a cool guy.
The best part of the conference was in the afternoon. Last month the mission didn´t make its goal. The mission didn´t do bad but could have done a lot better. President gave an excellent training and the spirit was very strong. As I said, I will miss him when he goes. He is the best president I could ever ask for.
This week we won´t have any baptisms, but next week I think we´ll have six or so, so that´ll be fun.
Life is good. I´m learning to love this work and the Savior more and more each day. Its great to hear things are going well at home.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
P.S. tell Ryan Matteson congrats and good luck on the mission. and give Steven Williams a hug for more when one of you sees him.
Well he wasn´t exactly elected, but I found out who my new mission president is going to be.I don´t remember his name right now, but he´s from Southern Brazil and President Parrella spoke very well of him. Still the thought of not having president Parrella as my president makes me kind of sad. I can´t that he´ll only be here for another three and a half months.
Anyway, conference was great yesterday. The doctor thats in charge of the north Brazil area was there to speak to us. imagine my surprise when President Parrella called my name and said. "Elder Bangerter will translate for doctor Farnsworth". I was caught a little off guard at first, but it was fun. First he gave a health training, then gave a talk. He is a cool guy.
The best part of the conference was in the afternoon. Last month the mission didn´t make its goal. The mission didn´t do bad but could have done a lot better. President gave an excellent training and the spirit was very strong. As I said, I will miss him when he goes. He is the best president I could ever ask for.
This week we won´t have any baptisms, but next week I think we´ll have six or so, so that´ll be fun.
Life is good. I´m learning to love this work and the Savior more and more each day. Its great to hear things are going well at home.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
P.S. tell Ryan Matteson congrats and good luck on the mission. and give Steven Williams a hug for more when one of you sees him.
Wednesday, March 2, 2005
Last Lost Sheep
Howdy Fam,
Well, it looks like I'm the only one still out of the country and running from time. I guess I can handle that. Crystal, por favor não chore demais por saudades, e não preocupe-se você vai acostumar-se.
Anyway, I had a great week. We finally had another baptism. Roberto was baptized on Saturday, and everything went wrong, but we got him in the water so its all good. He is a great guy that has a lot of desire to serve a mission.
This week we had a few interesting experiences. The funniest was last Wednesday. We were walking down the street that night and a drunk stopped us, thats the normal part. Anyway, I told him to stop drinking and we'd pass by his house the next day. We went there and he had stopped drinking. We taught him the first lesson, he went to church on Sunday and is getting baptized next week. We always talk about stuff like that, but I didn't think it would happen to me. What makes it better is that the same thing happened to the other elders in our ward and they're going to baptize their ex-drunk the same day as us. Its gonna be a great party.
Sunday was a really good day. We had ten visitors at church, and our baptism was confirmed and recieved the priesthood( things move a little faster here in Brazil). As far as the visitors go, a few were surprises. One was a man that we contacted the first week that Elder Santana was here and he finally went for the first time. Roberto's mom went and liked it too. The other surprise was that a member brought his neighbor. We taught him the first on Monday and he's getting baptized next week. This last week we didn't find a lot of new investigators, but we marked quite a few baptismal date of investigators that weren't progressing before.
As far as Elder Santana's patriarchal blessing, we've got zone conference again on Tuesday, so we'll ask President Parrella what to do. Well, the gospel is true I'm happy, and stuff.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
P.S. Crystal if you want to get engaged or something like that before I get home, you can just go right ahead and do it.
Well, it looks like I'm the only one still out of the country and running from time. I guess I can handle that. Crystal, por favor não chore demais por saudades, e não preocupe-se você vai acostumar-se.
Anyway, I had a great week. We finally had another baptism. Roberto was baptized on Saturday, and everything went wrong, but we got him in the water so its all good. He is a great guy that has a lot of desire to serve a mission.
This week we had a few interesting experiences. The funniest was last Wednesday. We were walking down the street that night and a drunk stopped us, thats the normal part. Anyway, I told him to stop drinking and we'd pass by his house the next day. We went there and he had stopped drinking. We taught him the first lesson, he went to church on Sunday and is getting baptized next week. We always talk about stuff like that, but I didn't think it would happen to me. What makes it better is that the same thing happened to the other elders in our ward and they're going to baptize their ex-drunk the same day as us. Its gonna be a great party.
Sunday was a really good day. We had ten visitors at church, and our baptism was confirmed and recieved the priesthood( things move a little faster here in Brazil). As far as the visitors go, a few were surprises. One was a man that we contacted the first week that Elder Santana was here and he finally went for the first time. Roberto's mom went and liked it too. The other surprise was that a member brought his neighbor. We taught him the first on Monday and he's getting baptized next week. This last week we didn't find a lot of new investigators, but we marked quite a few baptismal date of investigators that weren't progressing before.
As far as Elder Santana's patriarchal blessing, we've got zone conference again on Tuesday, so we'll ask President Parrella what to do. Well, the gospel is true I'm happy, and stuff.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
P.S. Crystal if you want to get engaged or something like that before I get home, you can just go right ahead and do it.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Welcome to my neck of the woods
Howdy Fam,
You know its funny I told my comp last night that my mom and dad would probably fly over at around four in the morning. I just got moms email confirming it. Welcome to Brasil! Anyway, I can't believe Crystal already finished her mission, but I guess thats life. Have a great week Crystal and parents.
My week was a little different this week, but as always had its good parts. The best part of course was zone conference. Elder Arnold wasn't able to come again because a missionary died last week in the neighbor mission (Belem). Instead Elder Franca the area seventy came and talked to us along with President Parrella. I felt the spirit very strong and it was a great. As usual it was good to see Elder Nixon and talk to him a bit. I was happy to find out that him and Elder Paludeti(my last comp) are training. This transfer 22 missionaries went home and 24 new ones arrived; 20 Brazilians, and 4 americans. Next transfer only to are leaving and 16 americans will arrived that should be interesting. Anyway conference was great and thats what I expected of the next day, yeah right. It wasn't a bad day, just a little tiring. Elder Santana was supposed to get his patriarchal at 4:00. We went to the bus station at 2:15 and got to the patriarch's chapel at 4:30 to find out that he had left less than five minutes earlier. We tried to find him and his house without success and got back to our area at 7:30 in time to miss the stake priesthood conference, and we didn't have the baptisms, but thats fine because Roberto will be baptized on Saturday.
Anyway, life's great, we're working and we've got some baptisms marked so I'm happy. Mom, I also asked about Steven.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
You know its funny I told my comp last night that my mom and dad would probably fly over at around four in the morning. I just got moms email confirming it. Welcome to Brasil! Anyway, I can't believe Crystal already finished her mission, but I guess thats life. Have a great week Crystal and parents.
My week was a little different this week, but as always had its good parts. The best part of course was zone conference. Elder Arnold wasn't able to come again because a missionary died last week in the neighbor mission (Belem). Instead Elder Franca the area seventy came and talked to us along with President Parrella. I felt the spirit very strong and it was a great. As usual it was good to see Elder Nixon and talk to him a bit. I was happy to find out that him and Elder Paludeti(my last comp) are training. This transfer 22 missionaries went home and 24 new ones arrived; 20 Brazilians, and 4 americans. Next transfer only to are leaving and 16 americans will arrived that should be interesting. Anyway conference was great and thats what I expected of the next day, yeah right. It wasn't a bad day, just a little tiring. Elder Santana was supposed to get his patriarchal at 4:00. We went to the bus station at 2:15 and got to the patriarch's chapel at 4:30 to find out that he had left less than five minutes earlier. We tried to find him and his house without success and got back to our area at 7:30 in time to miss the stake priesthood conference, and we didn't have the baptisms, but thats fine because Roberto will be baptized on Saturday.
Anyway, life's great, we're working and we've got some baptisms marked so I'm happy. Mom, I also asked about Steven.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
And stuff
Howdy Fam,
Wow, I can´t believe that it´s already Crystal´s last week. It seems like yesterday that I saw her driving away to the airport feeling like I´d never see her again, then I go to sleep one night wake up and she´s already going home. Well, I guess it´s just ment to be that way , and Crystal, tenha uma boa viagem.
Life is wonderful as usual here. We´ll have two baptisms on Saturday of two young men; Bruno(finally), and Roberto. They´re both 18 years old and want to serve missions, so I´m pretty excited about that. We´re also teaching a number of other people. We taught Teresinha and her family again, which we had thought didn´t want anything, but I have faith that they´ll be baptised before I leave. They´re really a nice family. Vera invited a friend of hers to church on Sunday. Maria is a single mother with two children. We talked to her yesterday and she seems quite interested. We´re going to teach her the first tomorrow. We´ve also got a few other people that we´re teaching, but these have the most potential.
I got the Christmas letter from home this week. I almost had a heart attack when I saw Matt´s picture, and then again when I realized that that picture is from 9 months ago. I´m going to get home and he´ll e taller than me.They family is looking great though. Those were the first pictures I´ve seen in a year. ( Nice attempt at a beard Adam, you look quite sophisticated).
The next few days, will be very busy. Tomorrow we have baptism interviews, Friday is zone conference with Elder Arnold, and Saturday my companion will recieve his patriarchal blessing, and the baptisms, so life is good. Well, I´m here you´re there, what more can I say.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
Wow, I can´t believe that it´s already Crystal´s last week. It seems like yesterday that I saw her driving away to the airport feeling like I´d never see her again, then I go to sleep one night wake up and she´s already going home. Well, I guess it´s just ment to be that way , and Crystal, tenha uma boa viagem.
Life is wonderful as usual here. We´ll have two baptisms on Saturday of two young men; Bruno(finally), and Roberto. They´re both 18 years old and want to serve missions, so I´m pretty excited about that. We´re also teaching a number of other people. We taught Teresinha and her family again, which we had thought didn´t want anything, but I have faith that they´ll be baptised before I leave. They´re really a nice family. Vera invited a friend of hers to church on Sunday. Maria is a single mother with two children. We talked to her yesterday and she seems quite interested. We´re going to teach her the first tomorrow. We´ve also got a few other people that we´re teaching, but these have the most potential.
I got the Christmas letter from home this week. I almost had a heart attack when I saw Matt´s picture, and then again when I realized that that picture is from 9 months ago. I´m going to get home and he´ll e taller than me.They family is looking great though. Those were the first pictures I´ve seen in a year. ( Nice attempt at a beard Adam, you look quite sophisticated).
The next few days, will be very busy. Tomorrow we have baptism interviews, Friday is zone conference with Elder Arnold, and Saturday my companion will recieve his patriarchal blessing, and the baptisms, so life is good. Well, I´m here you´re there, what more can I say.
Love,
Elder Bangerter
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